Fans of The Purple are now rooting for The Evil Empire thanks to the hostile fans of The Birds.

The Jaguars gave the Patriots a scare last week, but the biggest challenge they were going to face in the postseason was overcoming the crowd noise in U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis if the Vikings had won in Philadelphia to become the first team to play the Super Bowl on their home field. No other host team had ever made it past the divisional round.

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Tom Brady can expect a friendly crowd when Super Bowl LII kicks off next Sunday in Minneapolis. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

The buzz and hype for Super Bowl LII would have been at an all-time high if the Vikings had won. The streets in downtown Minneapolis would have been all purple, all the time. The effect of the Vikings loss can be seen on the secondary ticket market. In the days leading up the conference title games, the cheapest ticket for the Super Bowl was $4,500. The same section in the upper deck is now selling for $2,999 and the cheapest ticket in the stadium is $2,798.

But thanks to the rowdy treatment of Vikings fans by some hostile Eagles fans last week at The Linc at the NFC Championship Game, the good folks of Minneapolis still have a rooting interest in this game. They were not happy that Eagles fans bombarded the Vikings team bus with beer cans and bottles and fans in the stadium and parking lots were not subject to much hospitality.

Vikings QB Case Keenum told Dan Barreiro on KFAN in Minneapolis that his family was treated rudely.

"It was tough. I'm not going to tell you any stories," he said. "There were some situations that were not good. I'm glad I had some of my friends there to intercede. It was tough on everyone, not just on the field."

I called Barreiro last week, a long-time friend from our days at the Dallas Morning News, who is now the dominant sports talk voice with his popular radio show in the Twin Cities. I was wondering if the enthusiasm for Super Bowl LII had vanished because of the Vikings loss.

Thanks to the Eagles fans, it's back.

"There is no doubt the air is out of the balloon, yet I suspect that given the horror stories revealed by Vikings fans, and even hinted at by Case Keenum, about less than welcoming behavior by Eagles fans last week in Philly, Minnesota will house the most enthusiastic Patriots fans outside of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," Barreiro said. "Where they might have been just as tired as the rest of the country of the Patriots two weeks ago, they now might all wear hoodies and try the Brady/Bundchen diet. Plus, Tom Brady used to milk cows here. We are suckers for the local angle."

Yup, Brady used to milk cows and go ice fishing on his grandpa's farm two hours from Minneapolis in Browerville.

If the Vikings had won last week, their fans would have driven up the prices on the secondary market to record levels with no travel or hotel expenses. The Patriots receive the 17.5% participating teams share of the tickets and would have received half of the 6.2% that goes to the host city (it gets split only if the host team is playing in the game.) That means that only 20.6% were basically guaranteed to be Pats fans. Vikings fans would have been in better financial position to buy the secondary market tickets.

Now it should be a Patriots crowd with the Vikings fans holding a grudge.

A bar in Minneapolis has a welcoming sign on its window: "Eagles Fans: Stop In And Have A Free Beer Thrown At You!"

So it looks like clam chowder is in and cheesesteaks are out in Minneapolis this week.

Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick (r.) (Arthur Anderson/AP)

TOP BILLING

"The Two Bills," will air on ESPN on Feb. 1. It's about the relationship between Bill Parcells and Bill Belichick, who are friends again. Belichick's departure from the Jets in 2000 fractured their bond. The film is highly entertaining with great footage. Parcells and Belichick sat down for an interview last year in the Giants locker room at MetLife Stadium. They took a tour of the Legacy Club, where all the Giants trophies are kept, including the first two Super Bowl trophies when Parcells was the head coach and Belichick was the defensive coordinator. The NFL Films producer attempted to have Parcells and Belichick visit the Jets locker room. They both worked for the Jets, remember. They refused. "Not the Jets locker room," Belichick said. Then Parcells chimed in, "I'm not going in there. I don't want to go in there. What's the point?" It's nice to see they have such fond memories of their time with the Jets. The piece ended with them exiting the stadium… One newsy note from the documentary: Belichick revealed that he nearly left the Giants after they were 3-12-1 in 1983 in Parcells first year as head coach to take a job as the Vikings secondary coach. Parcells had been nearly fired after the '83 season and gave his blessing to Belichick if he wanted a more secure position. Belichick, who was the Giants linebackers coach, remained out of loyalty to Parcells and was named Giants defensive coordinator in 1985… Towards the end of the film, Parcells and Belichick admitted they loved each other but had never expressed it. "I'm not kissing him goodbye, I will tell you that," Parcells said. They both smiled.

Kevin Mawae (Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

HALL CALLS

I will be making the presentation for Kevin Mawae at Saturday's Hall of Fame meeting in Minneapolis. This is the second year he has made it as one of the 15 finalists. In his 16 seasons, eight of which were spent with the Jets, he helped produce a 1,000-yard rusher in 13 seasons, including when Curtis Martin became the oldest back (31) to lead the league in rushing with 1,697 yards in 2004, Mawae also blocked for backs who gained at least 100 yards in a game 92 times, which is 26 more than any center in the HOF. He is one of the top 3-4 centers of all time… Everson Walls, who made the game-saving tackle of Thurman Thomas in Super Bowl XXV, is a finalist for the first time in his 20th and final year as a modern era candidate. He played his first nine years with the Cowboys and led the league in INTs three times, the most of any CB in NFL history. He had 11 interceptions as a rookie in 1981 and in the 26 seasons since no player has had more than 10. Okay, he was covering Dwight Clark on his miraculous catch in the '81 NFC title game, but Joe Montana had about 20 seconds to throw the ball. In that game, Walls picked off Montana twice and recovered a fumble… Ray Lewis, the two-time Super Bowl champion linebacker with the Ravens, is up for the Hall for the first time and is the only sure thing in this year's group… Is the third time the charm for Terrell Owens? He has yet to make the cut from 15 down to 10 in his first two years as a finalist. Full disclosure: I voted for Owens each year. When I contacted T.O. last week about the HOF he didn't want to comment… Randy Moss is also a finalist in his first year of eligibility. The discussion in the meeting room should be quite interesting because many of the issues that have kept Owens out may work against Moss.

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PATS’ EASY PATH

Marcus Mariota… Blake Bortles… Nick Foles. Can it get any easier for the Patriots on the way to their sixth Super Bowl title for Brady and Belichick?... How can the Eagles beat the Patriots? Take a look at the tapes from the Giants victory over the Pats in Super Bowl XLII. Brady hates pressure up the middle. Fletcher Cox must be Justin Tuck when the Giants went to the NASCAR package. Cox, who is a force, could be the most important player for the Eagles. If he's unblockable, the Eagles will be dangerous… Couple anniversaries: It's 10 years since the Giants beat the undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. The 2018 season will be the 50th anniversary of the Jets incredible upset of the Colts in Super Bowl III. The Jets must still be celebrating because they have yet to make a return trip.

The Jets may believe in continuity but Todd Bowles clearly doesn't. Of the 18 coaches on his original staff in 2015, just four remain: Defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers, assistant head coach-inside linebackers Mike Caldwell, wide receivers coach Karl Dorrell and tight ends coach Jimmie Johnson. Bowles just promoted QB coach Jeremy Bates to offensive coordinator, his third OC in four years following Chan Gailey and John Morton. Bowles did not do a good job putting together his first staff but at least he's realized some of the coaches were bad fits and made changes rather than keeping them out of friendship… Leonard Marshall should be next man up for the Giants Ring of Honor in the fall. He was a key contributor to two Super Bowl teams and had 79.5 sacks in his 10 years with Big Blue.

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BRADY VS. SCHWARTZ

Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz worked for Belichick as a scout in Cleveland from 1993-95. They faced each other once when Schwartz was the head coach of the Lions from 2009-13. The game was at Ford Field in 2012. Final score: Patriots 45, Lions 24. Brady's line: 21-of-27 for 341 yards with 4 TDs and 0 INTs and a perfect 158.3 QB rating… Pat Shurmur's decision to hire Cardinals defensive coordinator James Bettcher as the Giants DC likely means Steve Spagnuolo will be moving on unless he is willing to drop down to being a position coach. It was a bit surprising Shurmur didn't retain Spags as DC only in that Spags hired Shurmur has his offensive coordinator in St. Louis in 2009 and when the script gets flipped, the favor is often returned. But Bettcher is a rising star, the Giants defense was horrendous last season – it quit in games against the Rams and 49ers – and three cornerbacks were suspended by the team. Shurmur may wind up retaining some of the Giants assistants, but not keeping Spags, the interim head coach the last four games after Ben McAdoo was fired, as defensive coordinator is an indication he is trying to distance the 2018 Giants from the 2017 Giants. Spagnuolo is beloved in the Giants organization but there doesn't seem to be a place for him. "I think that's up to Pat," John Mara said. "We've hired a defensive coordinator now, so I'm not sure that anything less than that is going to be acceptable to Steve, but who knows?"…When Dave Gettleman had just been hired as the Panthers GM, Shurmur was a candidate to be Carolina's offensive coordinator after Rob Chudzinski replaced Shurmur as the Browns head coach in 2013. Gettleman sat in on the first 10-15 minutes of Shurmur's interview with Panthers coach Ron Rivera, but Rivera decided to promote quarterbacks coach Mike Shula to OC. "I'm a firm believer as a GM when you're dealing with the head coach, I'm not going to force the head coach to hire anybody because that's not healthy," Gettleman said. "Obviously, I think part of it was the comfort of Mike had coached Cam (Newton) the whole time, since Cam walked in the door (in 2011)."

TOP OF THE DRAFT

There are still three months to go before the draft, so Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold will go through the combine, pro days and individual workouts, and by April 26, it should be clear who is No. 1 and who is No. 2. Even if the Browns take a QB in the first spot instead of going for Penn State RB Saquon Barkley, the Giants still need to take the QB the Browns don't. Eli Manning is 37 and the Giants have no idea what they have in Davis Webb because McAdoo and Spagnuolo didn't get him on the field for one snap. This is the first time the Giants have picked this high since 1981 (Lawrence Taylor at No. 2) and the first time they've been in the top four since 2004 (traded the pick for Manning). They would like not to be picking this high for another 14 years. There's no guarantee either Darnold and Rosen will be a franchise QB, but the Giants must take the risk and make an investment in the future. I would not be surprised if the Browns take Barkley at No. 1, the Giants take Darnold/Rosen at No. 2, the Colts take North Carolina State DE Bradley Chubb at No. 3 and then the Browns get Darnold/Rosen at No. 4 or even go for Wyoming QB Josh Allen in that spot. If either Darnold or Rosen is on the board when the Colts pick, they could trade with the Broncos (No. 5) or Jets (No. 6). If Andrew Luck's shoulder is still a problem, the Colts could even take a QB.